Eleven or twelve years ago, Mrs. Jason and I went car shopping. At the time, she had a ’96 Ford Escort and I had my ’96 Thunderbird. They were what we had when we married and they were both two-door cars. With having to contend with a baby’s car seat, we knew one of them had to go.

My Thunderbird was to fly away.

We decided upon a Taurus – easy to find, economical, and reliable. Or so we thought. Anyway, this car is exactly what we were looking for at that time.

Chestnut in color and equipped with the 24 valve 3 liter V6. Ours was identical to this one, except it didn’t have the higher output engine. The combination of color and engine could not be found anywhere within a reasonable distance of Kansas City.

Imagine my surprise when I found this.

It is almost heartbreaking to realize my true desire was out there. So the question is: From the times you have purchased a used car, what was something you really wanted yet simply could not find?

I suppose if I really do want this Taurus, I’ll need to keep my eye on govdeals.com

44 Comments

For me it has to be an un-molested/riced/stolen/rusted-out/beat-to-hell, mid-90’s Acura Integra, 5 spd Coupe w/ <250,000 miles. It was hard to find them in that shape in the early 2000's when I was buying my first cars, they are now all but impossible to find today in any decent shape…most of them being smashed, stolen or stripped long ago during the “Fast and The Furious” days.

I suspect we will see the remaining handful of clean low mileage Integras of this era going for silly prices at the classic car auctions in another 15-25 years when enough people of the Gen X generation start having real $ bid them up.

Funny you should mention this today. About 2008, I had a second kid getting a drivers license, and needed another car. I set out to find one of two things: either a nice old 90s Town Car, or a nice old 90s Miata. I know, a bit bipolar. Couldn’t find a thing. Everything nice was priced too high, and everything priced right was ragged. A lot of crap on Craigslist. Suddenly I stumbled on this 96 Odyssey. A simply gorgeous, pampered car, but with high miles. I bought the Ody and fell in love.

Then the Ody got wrecked. I tried and tried to find another. Every one I found was either priced in the stratosphere, or beat to crap. Stumbled on a 99 Town & Country and bought it. I had lost my rental car after the accident, and being down a car was causing problems, so I gave up. I would by another Gen1 Ody if a nice one with under 150K miles came up.

I take it that your Taurus had a Spock engine(3.0l 140hp OHV engine)? You were better off with that engine then the 24v(which while faster was prone to leaks and a true pain in the ass to fix stuff on it)

I am surprised the Escort did not go first and even more surprised that it actually was alive. Most did not live too long after they hit 80,000 miles or so due to the exhaust valve seat on cylinder #4 coming loose and falling out of the head causing damage to the piston. The 1.9 and 2.0 OHC Escort engines were known for this issue and it was never fixed as i remember the 2.0 in more then a few Focus LX’s drop the valve seats.

But to answer your original question about regret after buying a car because the one I really wanted came about. Yes this happened to me once. I was looking for a year or so for a Volvo 240 or 740 sedan. After all that time looking i settled for a 1990 Volvo wagon for $1000 and about two later i found a good looking Volvo 240 sedan for a great price but alas I already bought the wagon. I was a bit sad for a few days but then realized that that owning a Volvo wagon was advantageous as it became my dump car/ Home Depot car until I got a ranger and now it is used as a spare car/something to wrench on

Yes the Tauras had the Vulcan V6 and it was garbage. Taking fits of either making no power or snapping your neck all while consuming fuel at 12 to 20 mpg. I was kissing the ground if that thing broke 20 mpg after driving it like an old lady. Plus it needed new crank bearings at 57,000 miles. It was a joy.

On the other hand, the Escort was nearly flawless. Other than a minor shift linkage issue when new, it was fine. We did later sell it to Mrs. Jason’s brother who abused it until it died at 218,000 miles.

I purchased my 2010 Acura TSX one year ago and don’t get me wrong, it’s the perfect car for me and my tastes and I love it. That said, the color combination would not have been my first choice. Between the time I found it online and went to test drive it (and ultimately buy it), I searched for something different than gray with taupe leather. Ideally I would’ve loved to find a Basque Red Pearl with Parchment leather, with of course the V6. But finding another V6 TSX alone proved impossible. There were no others within a 100 mile radius.

I wish my pickup truck was an extended cab / short box and not a standard cab / long box. Back in 2001, 2nd gen Cummins were still new enough that there weren’t many available used, and most were 4×4 while I wanted RWD.

We got lucky with my wife’s CR-V though. 2006 was the last year for the 5-speed stick. When we were shopping in 2010, the Honda dealer near us had a lease-return on the lot. After test driving it, I looked online and discovered that the only other one in Ontario was at a dealer a couple hours drive away. We went back and bought it the next day.

My mom also had to “settle” when buying her new Mercedes GLK this summer. The only option she really wanted was the full leather seating package, but Mercedes just doesn’t build em that way. The dealer searched other dealer inventory on the entire east coast of the U.S. and the only few with leather had nearly every other available option and were upward of $50,000. Not to mention they were all black or white.

The other option was to order a special build from the factory in Germany, but they said it would take 4 months. Her car was about to hit 100,000 miles; once past that its trade-in value would be much less.

She eventually had to go with the MB-Tex in order to get her GLK in a less common color and within budget.

If my ’09 Civic had a 5-speed it would be aces (the wife has a history of killing clutches). 151k on the clock from new, with naught dosh spent but on fuel, oil, tires, and a change-out of transmission fluid and coolant every 40k or so.

Whilst shopping around to purchase the Civic (which replaced a loathsome ’97 Tacoma) I really, REALLY wanted a gently used Audi Allroad/Avant or Subaru Fill-In-The-Blank. The former tickles me in my aesthetic G-spot, the latter provides more utility than a sedan.

In hindsight it worked out pretty well, as neither would have been able to even catch a whiff of the sort of reliability that the Honda has given me.

I have looked for years and would love to find again, a 1986-1987 Mazda 626 GT with the 2.0 turbo. Rust killed these already scarce cars years ago. I had one briefly back in 2004 and had to sell it. My very first car was an ’86 LX. Recently I had to purchase a new commuter car for myself and ended up with an ’88-’92 body style 626 non-turbo. Although I adore my old Mazda, I still long for the older body style.

Fifteen years ago, I searched for a Merkur Scorpio with the 5-speed manual (knowing it would be a rare car). Before the internet, my search choices were limited, but I did make a long distance call on one listed in Autoweek- No luck, it was an automatic.

Today, the Merkur internet sites place the number of manuals brought into the US at around 20, so it’s no surprise I searched in vain. I finally bought a nice maroon automatic, but I’d still like to take a run around the block in a Scorpio with that 5 speed.

I had the 4.0 in my 2007 Ranger. It had lots of power and could be loaded to the brim with stuff but never be bogged down. The fuel economy is what did it in for me. My F150 Ecoboost can haul even more and gets better mileage.

I still miss the Ranger, though. There was something simple and basic about it that appealed to me.

About 10 years ago, my 1991 Grand Marquis had just sucked another $40 fuel bill out of my wallet and I’d decided I’d had enough. I was breaking 40 years old and feeling my oats a little bit (i.e. wishing for younger years!) and thought that a little sporty coupe would heal my wounded soul.

I started out looking for an R/T or a ACR Neon, but the ones I found were either beat to death, or some *sshat thinking it was a mini-Viper and wanted serious coin for it. No deal. I then set my sights on a 1995 and later (4th gen) Cavalier Z24 or a Sunfire GT. I still had kids in middle school at the time, no $$’s for a F-body which is what I REALLY wanted.

I found a couple, but the ones I liked (in terms of color and equipment) were either abused or neglected. I found a black 1998 Z28, low miles, 5 speed, hardly molested (i.e. 2000 watt stereo, etc., etc.). It drove well, engine checked out, but it had electrical problems. I found a couple of Sunfire GTs, but they were at dealerships, too much money. So, I gave up, resigned to driving my GrandMa until the bastard sucked my wallet dry…

Then, a chance conversation with my brother in law, he had a 1997 Cavalier (LS level) coupe he wasn’t driving. He had a company car and a pickup, but the condo association wouldn’t let him keep a third car; he (somewhat jokingly) said to me, I’d take a $1000 for it, just to get it off the property…

SOLD! I wrote him a check the next day. He was a little chagrined that I took him seriously, but he honored what he’d said and handed over the title.

Here we are at 256K miles, 9 years later and the Cavalier (while not a Z24) is STILL running. The body looks awful due to 12+ years of exposure to midwestern winters, but the Opel designed heart of the little beast is still beating. It’s been handed down from me to both of my daughters and is still operating well. In fact, daughter #2 drove it to a job site in metro Detroit (about 2.5 hours from here) this morning. The damned thing won’t die.

FWIW, about two years later, I did finally find a Sunfire GT with a Quad 4, 5 speed and minimal options (only the factory mandatory ones, no super radio or sunroof or those other weight adding options). I just recently sold the car after 7 years of (sometimes brutal) service, to get my third Aztek.

I was fortunate when I went to buy a used car back in 1992 and got what I wanted, though the exact model I hadn’t specified. All I knew was I wanted a Honda, and it had to be used, a hatchback, with a 5Spd, and have AC, and didn’t care if an Accord, or the Civic. Also, it had to be no more than $3K, as that was my budget at the time.

Looked at 82/83 Accord hatchbacks, 2 blue ones, and one silver one. Well, I found the silver one, but never was able to get a hold of the owner, and it was a very nicely kept one at that. The 2 blue ones I found had issues that left me walking away, I also looked at a base ’85 hatchback, but at $3000 and with body damage on the passenger side that would involve pulling out the panel just aft of the passenger door, and replacing said door and doing perhaps some Bondo work, and then have to replace the clutch and cable at the very least, I don’t think so. Besides I don’t think it even HAD AC, a must for me.

Ended up finding exactly what I was after in a 1983 Honda Civic hatchback. It had the 5spd manual, AC (worked once recharged), the stock AM/FM mono radio, and was the 1500DX so had the intermittent wipers, rear washer/wiper and electric defroster.

However, the color (Oslo Ivory) was not my first choice, but was liveable, and it needed a new clutch/cable and found out the owner hadn’t replaced the timing belt yet, and it was due, so did that, and the water pump too. The best part was, I was able to bring it down from $3K to $1500. It has just under 113K on it at the time of purchase

It ended up serving me nicely from ’92-98, and I put something like 75K miles on it. Other than brakes, tires, new CV boots, exhaust, and one or two other small things, it was flawless. Sold it with water leaking inside from being rear ended the year before, and had almost 183K on the clock at the time.

Then last year, I was not specific on any model of car, but would have preferred the manual, but had to have AC, and it had to be a hatchback or I’m walking, and again, used as I was replacing my old Ford Ranger that was dying. I did find two vehicles with a 5sp that mostly fit my criteria, one a base 07 Aveo without AC or any power anything, and a nicely loaded ’08 Mazda5, but in the end, the 5 was too much car, the Aveo was too stripped out for my needs, and ended up buying a 2003 Mazda Protege5, not my color choice here either, and with the sport stick autobox (4spd), but it was the right car for me, and my needs, then, and now, and I was not even looking at a Mazda, nor expecting to even BUY anything that weekend as I was on reconnaissance to see what I could get for my budget.

Sometime in the late ’90s I was driving a ’92 Geo Metro and wanted the same with more power. A Suzuki Swift GT…yeah, right, None in my area, none for sale on the whole East Coast on the crude used-car-search sites of the day (come to think of it, did they even exist?). Wound up with a solid but stripped but still quicker ’95 Tercel.

August 2006 or 7 I test drove a 2003 Ford Focus, exactly how I would’ve specced one new (if an SVT was off the table): 5-door hatch, sunroof, every option except automatic and leather, silver with gray interior (true silver hadn’t jumped the shark yet in my book, at that point). Someone else bought it over that weekend while I was busy working the world’s deadest grand opening…

A couple weeks ago, I thought I found it – a 2005 Lincoln Aviator. Priced under $10,000 and about 100,000 miles. Loaded.

Drove up 50 miles to discover that the color of the interior showed every mark and fart the family that owned it made. It needed serious detailing and serious second thoughts. Told the Ford dealer to keep on the lookout for another Aviator.

Instead he asked if I was interested in a Crown Victoria they just got in with 60,000 miles on it. I wasn’t – but since I was right there I told him I’d take a look at it. Having driven hundreds of these Panther cars and finding them painfully dull I don’t know why I said yes.

It was sitting along the gravel drive with a dusty gray covering some kind of dark red. I wasn’t impressed. The salesman got the key fob and I opened the door to discover that behind the dark tinted windows was no ordinary Crown Vic. Instead of a standard Crown Vic interior, this car had black leather bucket seats with a center console.

It was a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria LX Sport that had only one owner who was an engineer who filled out every detail of every maintenance and long distance trip ever made. It even included a decade worth of oil, service repairs and name of the mechanic who performed the service and where. Under that gray dust was a garage queen that looked showroom new once washed.

Instead of a floaty Crown Vic ride, the LX Sport rode like a real car with real steering and real V8 power. After ten minutes whipping it around back roads and farm land, I was doing all I could to keep myself from having a giant orgasm in a used car I still expected to have some huge flaw undiscovered within it.

I bought it.

I’ve had it two weeks and have taken it to my mechanic who declared that the Matador Red LX Sport was barely broken in. I’m still in absolute shock that this car landed on my lap. I so badly needed a real break from my old stand-by thirteen year old grocery getter.

But it still isn’t a Lincoln Aviator.
And then again, wasn’t about time that a good hard working daddy caught a break from driving what he was duty bound to drive and race down the expressway in a big BOF four door V8 cruiser that had been pampered all it’s life by a retiree who cared for it all these years, just for me? Those stereo speakers are being rocked by the newest DeadMau5 and that back seat is filled with kiddie booster seats. OH HELL YES!

VanillaDude, I can count the # of times I’ve agreed with you on one hand. Let me say, damn I wish I had that Crown Vic…

I troll Auto Trader and eBay just looking for the Crown Vics and Grand Marquis that came with the dual exhausts that will make me explore further to see if they have the handling package or not but you sir found the next best thing to a Marauder. I’d love to find a Grand Marquis LSE which is the LS Sport version of the Grand Ma.

Except for the Marauder, I had no idea these cars even existed. The differences between the LX Sport, LSE and the Marauder to a regular Crown Vic or Grand Ma is amazing. I’ve driven an 2011 Grand Marquis just a couple months ago and wrote it off as something I would want because it is so uninteresting and has no road feel.

These cars fit my growing family, but except for the comfortable size, the car had the performance of a marshmallow, and a similar taste.

So I was in complete shock when I began driving the LX Sport. An incredible difference. Amazing.

Interesting fact: the Town Car Signature Touring Sedan and Cartier Designer Edition got the Limousine Package, which included dual exhaust, for 220 hp. The single-exhaust Executive and Signature only had 205.

You once again prove my rule – the best cars you will ever find are the ones you are not looking for. The best ones find you if you are smart enough to recognize one when you see it. Congrats on a cool car. I remember seeing a couple of these when new in a dealer lot, then almost never again. I could easily see myself in such a car, if I were ever to find one.

In 1997 my Jetta GLI was stolen. I found myself craving a first gen Dodge Colt “mini-minivan”–also sold as the Eagle Summit wagon. Probably an odd craving for a single guy, but I thought one with 4WD, nice rims, and some ground effects would be a really unique, fun vehicle… the epitome of uncool cool. But I couldn’t find one. I eventually settled on an Infiniti G20 and had no regrets, although I still wish I hadn’t been forced by circumstances to buy something quickly. Here’s the souped-up Mitsu version, a bit less tasteful than what I wanted to do:

When I started looking for my first car down here 2 years ago I had an EXTENSIVE list of choices.

I eventually settled on a Commodore, VT or VZ. Some people was asking ridiculous money for base cars so at some point I decided f@#$%^& this and went to check the “luxury” version in the classifieds. Prices were still ridiculous but at least I was getting some value.

And there it was, a turdgundy VT Calais with a grey leather interior. No rips, tracks straight it even have the original shock absorbers!!! I missed on the V8 and a tan/beige/light brown interior, but that will have to wait for the next ride.

With the Saab… ummmm, there are no turbo Saabs for $500… or they show up after pulling the trigger. I wanted either a NG900/9-3 turbo or a 9-5 in both cases M/T.

Back in ’98 or so when I got my first “real” job, I decided to buy a new Camaro — cars were getting uglier every year and I wanted to waste money on one new car before I died. The only vehicle I was remotely interested in was a new 6-speed Z28 and it had to be Quasar Blue Metallic.

I was all excited until I saw what GM did to the of the 1998 Camaro. Gag: there was no way I could learn to love those goofy soon-to-be-cloudy headlights and that cheap rubbery grille. I spent months searching for a used Quasar Blue 6-speed Camaro and nope: nothing. Next color on the list was purple. Nope: none of those either.

I settled on a heavily optioned Polo Green 6-speed Z28 with 56K. It had that awful beige leather interior but it was the only non-black, non-red, non-silver, non-white stick-shift Camaro in Alabama so I bought it.

The car was very fulfilling — the T56 transmission was silky-smooth… and a few years later I ended up dumping the nasty beige interior for some gorgeous white leather interior (gray carpet/trimmings) out of a 35th Anniversary white/orange Camaro. The green/white interior was nearly perfect…but it would have looked so much better surrounded by that Quasar blue.

Then the POS Optispark crapped out on me and I got rid of it. I missed having a bullet daily-driver and eventually found another “almost what I wanted” 6-speed Z28, this one a convertible even. But it was black, an awful awful black with drab gray cloth interior.

I just couldn’t get over that depressing generic color combo… (“you should have waited on a blue one”)…kept ringing in my head. When its Optispark started randomly crapping out (after I replaced the $400 unit a few years back)..I quit driving it and decided I was through with the LT-1 world. I had two LT-1 cars earlier this year & dumped both of them: I’m done.

Of course they were promptly replaced by two Ladybird Firebirds: cars I’ve ALWAYS had a big thing for: half the horsepower but twice the enjoyment….and I can actually work on them if/when they do break. Oh well, I digressed again…

I was trying for a ’75-’79 Lincoln Continental last summer. I’d recently gotten a better job that called for out-of-city court appearances. I wanted to stop renting cars. Having sold my ’87 Cadillac Brougham when I moved to Manhattan, I sort of thought the American iron phase of my life was over. Here was another chance to own something huge and old and not need to drive it daily as I had in the suburbs. I knew that would mean lower operating costs.

So I went looking for the Continental, which like the proverbial big fish in the lake, proved irritatingly elusive. They were either showroom condition for $10,000, or had giant rims and “had 2 b sold” because of some explanation or another that usually was neither grammatical nor spelled correctly.

And then I saw the ’77 Electra. I knew right away it wouldn’t be a new experience; I’d already had the Brougham, basically the same car with more gadgets. Why buy a stripper Brougham? Especially in piss yellow?

Then I looked around again. Overpriced box Panthers. Some idiot who wanted $12,000 for a middling quality ’75 SDV. No Continentals to speak of. A ’77 SDV for $7500. A beautiful ’80 Caprice. Beautiful until I got to check out and realized it had the hair dryer 267 cid V8 under the hood.

I bought the Electra. It needed some work and still has some little things that need working out, but the block was still corporate blue, there was no rust underneath, and it had about 60k on the clock. A few engine flushes, gaskets, and a mechanical fuel pump later, it has not been too bad. It’s no Cadillac and it’s not the Continental I wanted, but since my two previous cars had an Olds 307 and Panther 302 under their respective hoods, a functioning Buick 350 with flows is quiet but a lot more fun to drive. Now that it’s repainted dark green (the ’77 catalog color), it looks infinitely better, too. Recently drove to DC and back with no issues.

Still want the ’75-’79 Continental (preferably ’75-’77 so I can get that cool speedo, I care a bit less about the 460 vs. 400 cid V8). The downsized C-Bodies are nice cars, but I want to experience real bigness, pillow upholstery, the big star, and real isolation from the road. Even the biggest cars from the downsize can’t really produce that sensation and experience.

When I bought my ’83 Olds 98 a few years back, the identical car but with a dark blue top showed up in NYC for about $500 less than I paid and half the mileage, 33k vs 143k. I didn’t feel all that bad about it because I preferred the white/white of mine, but it was a smack in the face! I’m not sure I’d be able to get a ride down there anyway to get it despite being just an hour away, but the timing was amazing. At the time I was in a hurry to replace my g-body Bonneville, craving a big car again going through withdrawal from my Caprice.

Some old cars just have a feel to them that makes them beautiful, the way they’re optioned or just an overall personality they get in patina or age and I’m still glad to have my Olds. It’s condition is good, but not factory new all around. I regularly see those cherry, low mileage ones pop up on craigslist and with what I put into mine could’ve gotten two by now. Whenever I have had one in the past the experience is often ruined initially by worrying about keeping it that pristine so I guess it’s a tradeoff. That and I like to think I’m bringing the car back to life for the future. It’s a Regency Brougham too so I felt it’s worthwhile to do so. Well that’s enough of my rambling.

1992 I searched high and low for a new black 16v GTI, alas all I could find was a Demo Montana green metallic 16v GTI. I had to have black so I settled for a 1993 integra LS with 5 spd. Loved that car but have always really missed not getting the GTI.